January 11, 2008.
The Workplace Flexibility 2010 News Roundup is a compilation of the latest news articles, reports and other materials related to workplace flexibility. The News Roundup appears twice-weekly. If you have questions about any of the items, please contact WF2010@law.georgetown.edu.
Articles
Commuters Rail Against Peak Plan
“Rob Hulls wants Victorians to "update their thinking" and embrace flexible working hours to take the pressure off the state's transport system at peak hour. Mr Hulls, the Acting Premier, said it was appropriate for the Government to negotiate workplace changes with big businesses.”
Employees Satisfied with Work-Life Most Likely to Recommend Company to Others
“Ong said, "I think the key to work-life balance is what we call flexible time. A lot of the time management...depends on the individual. So we actually encourage the individuals to firstly define what does work-life balance mean to them, so that they can manage their time according to their objectives."”
The Hiring Manager's New Year's Resolutions
“Realize that it's not just about the money - Perks and strong benefits have become just as important as compensation. Flexible schedules, mother's hours, telecommuting, and sabbaticals are just a few of the work/life balance benefits that will attract key talent to your organization.”
Employees Want the Next President's Agenda to Make Work-Life Flexibility Easier for Companies and Individuals
“Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed in the 2007 Annual Work+Life Fit Reality Check believe the next president should introduce legislation that would make it easier for organizations to offer and individuals to have more work-life flexibility."…While work-life flexibility has been a prominent issue in political campaigns in other countries, such as Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand, it's a blip on the U.S. political radar screen.”
Paid Sick Leave Bill Ready for Lawmakers
“The clock is set to start ticking this week on an effort to pass a paid sick-leave mandate in the Ohio General Assembly. Ohioans for Healthy Families, a coalition of 180 organizations, said Friday Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner certified that enough signatures were submitted Dec. 11 to send the bill to the legislature. If adopted, the seven-day paid sick leave requirement would affect businesses with 25 or more in order to ease the commuter crush.”
The Falling-Down Professions
““The older professions [Medicine and Law] are great, they’re wonderful,” said Richard Florida, the author of “The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life” (Basic Books, 2003). “But they’ve lost their allure, their status. And it isn’t about money.”… This decline, Mr. Florida argued, is rooted in a broader shift in definitions of success, essentially, a realignment of the pillars. Especially among young people, professional status is now inextricably linked to ideas of flexibility and creativity, concepts alien to seemingly everyone but art students even a generation ago.”
Life's Work: Some Orders that the Boss Should Heed
“I turned to smart thinkers in the realm of life/work — individuals who have done a lot to advance the conversation this last year. If you could assign a resolution to a business leader to improve the lot of the overstressed, less-than-balanced worker, I asked, what would that resolution be?...Joan Williams, the director of the Center for WorkLife Law, would “send the message that fathers are expected to take three months of family leave after the birth of their children.”
Mothers 'Are Happier' Having Job
“Working women with children are significantly happier than stay-at-home mothers, regardless of how many hours they work, a survey has said. For men, meanwhile, life satisfaction depends on having a full-time job. The study by the Institute for Social and Economic Research suggests non-working mothers are more satisfied with life once their children start school.”
Blogs
Can You Teach Work/Life Balance?
What I found most interesting is that three-fourths of workers said they wanted their employers to provide training of practical skills to help improve their work-life balance. Can you really teach people to balance work and life outside work?
Peaceful Revolution: Business Leaders of America: Fear Not Paid Family Leave
“In fact, American business should take a step back and realize that what American families need -- and therefore what's good for American business -- is not only family leave but support for paid family leave…. American business firms can handle paid leave hands down, because they know there is more to profitability than a single-minded focus on cost. California has offered paid family leave for years with no resulting exodus of business firms.”